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THE BODY'S RESPONSE TO STRESS·Stress is experienced when a persons perceived demands exceedtheir perceived ability to cope.·In a short period of time this can lead to `fight or flight', helpinga person deal with acute stressors.·Over a long period of time the bodies response is chronicstressors. Acute Stressors Sympathetic ­Adrenal-Medullar (SAM) Chronic Stressors Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Leading to changes such as... (HPA) Hypothalamus commands the The ACTH Hypothalamus Autonomic Nervous System to activate the simulates theto travels the of release ·Increased heart rate System Pathways Adrenal Cortex Hormone Corticotrophin-Releasing Sympathetic Nervous which simulates which stimulates the the release release of of running to the Cortico-Steroids Adrenocorticotrophic Hormone (ATCH) ·Sweating Adrenal Medulla into the from the within the Blood stream Pituitary Gland ·Shaking Adrenal Glands which gives to release into the blood stream Energy (needed for action) Adrenaline ·Increased Blood / Noradrenalin Pressure by converting fat & protein into the blood stream…read more

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One of the most basic behavioural differences between men and women is how they respond to stress. Taylor et al found that men usually react with the `fight or flight' response whilst women react with a `tend or befriend' response. The hormone oxytocin could be responsible for this response, it has been found to make people less anxious and more sociable. Taylor et al found that higher levels of oxytocinTHE BODY'S RESPONSE TO STRESS were associated with reduced cortisol levels to stress and faster recovery from acute stress. Male hormones appear to reduce oxytocin but the female hormone oestrogen amplifies it. Resulting in men being more vulnerable to stress related disorders such as hypertension and coronary heart disease. Because the `tend and befriend' effect helps to protect women against stress this could explain why women liveAcute seven Stress: Thelonger. and a half years Chronic Stress: The Sympathomedullary Pathway Hypothalamic-Pituitary- (SAM) Adrenal System (HPA) Immediate stressors prepare the body Controls levels of stress related for `fight or flight' through release of hormones in the body. adrenaline Is activated by physical and emotional It is automatic and arouses the stressors, but is less easy to activate autonomic nervous system (ANS) than the SAM Noradrenalin is a neurotransmitter It responds to chronic stress situations released by the SNS to activate Negative feedback from the pituitary internal bodily organs (increased gland equals impaired cognitive heart rate, blood pressure, cardiac performance, higher blood pressure output, increased pupil size, fat and and lowered immune response glycogen in the blood stream) It takes 20 minutes for the feedback Adrenaline has an effect on the body' process to be complete s physiological systems (boosting supply of oxygen and glucose to the brain and muscles, suppressing non emergency bodily processes such as digestion.…read more

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STRESS RELATED ILLNESS: THEIMMUNE SYSTEMTheBoth stress effects ofresponse stress systems can SAM & HPA sometimes have a direct enhance effect on the the immune immune system : system.Evans et al Evans looked et al found into that the stressactivity might be ofassociated the antibody slgA (which coats with under-vigilant immunethe disordermucous (letting surfaces ofinfections the mouth, in) or over-vigilant lungs immune and stomach disorder against (where it is infection. the et Evans immune systemal arranged itself causing for students to give the disorder). talks to other students (mild but acute Kiecolt-Glaserstress). Theseet Individual al found students a decrease showed Differences anin immune cell increase Real in the World functioning antibody, Apps yetwhereas Fischer et al found levels of an increase in immune cell functioning.slgA decreased during exam periods stretched over several weeks. Evans ·Women show more adverse ·Stress-coping behaviours canet al Research intoproposed thatstress stressandmayimmune havesystem functioning: two effects on the immune be taught system to all up- age groups hormonal and immunologicalregulation for acute Acute stressors changes in stress (Examination the way theyand down-regulation Stress): react Kiecolt-Glaser for chronic et al carried ·Techniques stress. out can a natural include deep experiment investigating whether the stress of short-term stressors (important to marital conflict. (Kiecolt- breathing and expressiveA meta-analysis examinations) (Segerstrom had an effect on and the Miller, immune2004): system functioning in medical students. Glaser) writingA meta Bloodanalysis samples of 293 were studies taken conducted a month over before (low the past stress) 30the during years found: exams (high ·As people stress). age, was Functioning stress has aby measuring NK cell tested ·People whowhich activity, use stress-coping was reduced in·Short term, greater acute effect stressors on immune can boost the immune system, behaviours prompting generally reportit to the second sample. Suggesting that short-term stressors reduce immune systemready itself system for functioning, infections functioning, increasing or other making it challenges vulnerability to illness. to the body in their physical improvement harder for the body to regulate and psychological well-being·Long-term, Chronic chronic Stressors stressors (Relationship itself (Segerstrom and Miller) led to Stress): the suppression Kiecolt-Glaser of tested et al the immune system the impact of ­the arguments most chronic in relationships on wound stressors were healing. with associated She found that blisters the most global on the arms of suppression married couples healed slower when they had discussions which were conflictingof immunity. rather than supportive. Kiecolt-Glaser also compared women separated from their·The longerwith partners the matched stress, the more married the immune controls. system They found shifted poorer from immune potentially system functioningadaptive changes in women who had separated to potentially in the detrimental last year. changes.…read more

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LIFE CHANGESEvaluation Life changes of arethe lifethat events changes approach. necessitate a major transition in some aspects of our life.Positive Research and Negative on life changes Events: ValidityResearch using the SRRS appears and Reliability to suggest that any life-changing event has the Holmes topotential and Rahe played damage health a ·Therekeyhave because role inthe been of developing reports significant the that amountidea that life changes are of re-adjustment linked it entails. to stressHowever some and illness. critics retrospective now suggest that reports may it is the not beof the event which is crucial with quality`undesired, changes toparticularly Using life unscheduled measure accurate, stress and uncontrolled' for example changes being the most harmful. Brown suggests that people who Holmes and Rahe developed are unwellthefeelSocial they Readjustment need to provide Rating Scale (SRRS) based on 23Lifelife Changes events. TheyandaskedDaily 400Hassles: an explanation participants for their to score each event terms of how much illness,Lazarus suggests that readjustment wouldas major life arechanges be required therefore by the more are likely relatively average to reportperson.rare in the lives of most people, itisClassic the minor daily study of hassles of life life life changes stressful which are a more significant source of stress. events.DeLongis et al studied stress in 75 married ·The version reliability of couples, asking them to fill in a daily hassles retrospective Rahe et al gave a militaryand uplifts scale. They reports found no of the relationship SRRS to 27000 between men in and life events the health, navy and butasked found the a men to fill in just before has also a tour and been of duty, questioned. noting all lifepositive correlation between Rahe hassles found that illness test-retest the next daychanges such asexperienced in the flu & sore throats. previous 6 months. Rahe et al found a positive correlation between the rank life event (LCU) and areliability varies high illness depending score. Therefore on the the findings support the hypothesisIndividual Differences: time interval that chronic stress leads to illness. between testing.The SRRS ignores the ·Hardt fact thatetlife changes will al interviewed 100inevitably have different significance for Recent people.different research on life Similarly, changes people patients who find something of childhood abuse and particularly left stressful would not bestressful Michael for andsomeone Ben-Zur else. 2.2 years studied before(both widows interviewing men and themwomen) and found that their levels of satisfaction, in again. He found the widowed moderate group this was to good found to be higher before theSpurious Relationship: bereavement thanreliability after the for most loss. childhood Whereas the opposite pattern was found in couplesBrown who had recently suggests experiences. divorced, that people theirlevels with high satisfaction of anxiety waswould higherbeafter more the satisfaction likely to report possiblynegative because life events they and are also would now be dating more or livingto prone with a new partner. illness.…read more

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DAILY HASSLESEvaluation of research into daily hassles: Explaining daily hasslesMeasuring Hassles and UpliftsThe hassles and uplifts scales, (HSUP) by DeLongis et al measures respondents' attitudes towards dailyThe accumulation situations. effect The HSUP provides a way of evaluating both the positive and negative events thatRuffin has occur in shown that a persons daily hassles provide a more significant source of stress for most day.people than major life events. One explanation for this is that accumulation of minor dailyDailystressorsHassles creates persistent irritations, frustrations and overloads which then result in moreBouteyreserious et al investigated stress reactions the relationship such between as anxiety andthe mental health of students during the initial transition depression. period from school to university. Results showed that 41% of the students studied suffered from depressiveThe amplification symptoms. effectcorrelation between scores on the hassles scale and the incidence of There was a positiveAn alternative explanation depressive symptoms. Showingtothe above studyis thatthat shows chronic stress to the transition due to major university life changes is frequently may fraught with daily hassles.make people more vulnerable to daily hassles. If a person is already in a state of stress,minorDailystressors Uplifts may amplify the experience of stress. The presence of a major life changemay also deplete a person's resources so that they are less able to cope with minorGervais et alstressors asked than nurses they to keep would indiaries normal for circumstances, a month, recording all their daily hassles and uplifts while at work, they were also asked to rate their own performance over the same period. At the end of the month itThe problems was of clear that daily retrospective hassles recall were found to increase job strain and decrease job performance. Nurses felt that some ofParticipants the are uplifts (compliment asked to recall thefrom a patient daily hasslesor praise theyfrom a superior) counteracted experienced the negative over the previous month. effects of their daily hassles. These uplifts improved their performance.This may lead to inaccurate recall, which some researchers have overcome by using a diarymethod, where participantsDaily Hassles Versus Life rate minor Changes stressors on a daily basisWhat doesDaily hassles the are now research seen tell as a significant us? source of stress. Ruffin suggested that daily hassles were linked toMost of the greater data fromand psychological the research physical on daily dysfunction thanhassles is correlational. major negative We et life events. Flett cannot draw al found that casual major life-changing events may differ from daily hassles in the extent to which a person wouldconclusions about the relationship between daily hassles and well-being. This indicates that receive / seekwe social support. The findings suggest that, compared to major life events, the greater negative influence of can only assume that daily hassles potentially have an effect on our health. daily hassles on psychological adjustment may be due, in part, to the reduced social and emotional support received from others.…read more